DramaSystem Light
The DramaSystem is great at creating tension between your characters and flushing out back story to help them determine how to play the party interrelationships. In some groups though it can be over applied resulting in too much drama or asking questions about characters that people don't really want to think about. some tie you just want something light and to smash some undead.
In those situations this pares down the most interesting parts and save the GM the trouble of explaining why a group is together.
Step 1 Choose a Group
If you pick a reason why the characters are all together from the beginning it makes it easier. it can be pretty broad and still work.
Some examples include:
- Ship's Crew
- Wealthy household
- Thieves Guild
- Isolated village
- Investigator agency
- Military organization
- Spy Agency
- Religious Community
- Hunting Party
- Musical Band
- Company Employees
- Street Gang
- Other family
- Other group of coworkers
Step 2 Role in Group
Every player should pick their character's role in the group in random order. It is discouraged to have multiple players select the same role, though you could make a small change by adding an extra adjective to differentiate the peasant for the disgruntled peasant. The GM should try to provide 50% more sample roles than players.
Here is a sample set for a ship's crew:
- Captain
- Helmsman/Pilot
- Navigator
- Lookout
- Longshoreman
- Quartermaster
- First Mate
- Shipwright
- Repairman
- Communications
- Deck hand
- Cabin Boy
- Healer
- Cook
- Bosun
- Watch Leader
- Gunner
- Master at arms
- Chaplain
- Other specific Crafts person (rope maker, Sailmaker, Carpenter, Cooper)
- Other security or military position
- Passenger
Step 3 Establish Relationships
In a new random order, go around in a circle having each player choose another character to establish a relationship with. Players should not be forced to accept relationships they don't want to play. The added relationships should not be something directly tied to the relationship of their roles. Each defined relationship should add a fact about each linked character. The DramaSystem states you should go around until every character has a relationship to every other character, but I think it is worth going a little short of that. After going around at least once, you can stop once every character has at least 2 relationship and there is a path for any character to any other character through relationships. Or just go around twice. If forced to fill the graph people maybe more likely to scrape the bottom of the pot and things can get a little too dense with no room for characters to organically grow relationships, it is sometimes cooler to have the characters actually experience becoming war buddies than just saying they are old war buddies.
Don't be afraid to throw a WHY? at the players to force them to go into a little more depth on the nature of the relationship. In fact all my example relationships should probably require a why to give them a little more detail for characters. This extra why replaces the assumed conflict of the DramaSystem with something that can grow into something later. Also determine if each relationship is unidirectional, like respects, or bidirectional, like married to.
Optionally you can also use this opportunity to flush out some NPCs by letting players create connections to new or existing NPCs. Maybe you want the ship's captain to be an NPC to start so you let the group add relationships to him. I would try to keep the number of NPCs added low, less then 50% the party size. Limit the number of NPC relationships the party can have and go around at least one extra time, making sure the each PC has at least 2 relationships with other PCs.
Example Relationships:
- My Boatswain was adopted by the Captain as a boy
- My Gunner was a cell mate with the Shipwright
- My Watch leader doesn't trust the Gunner
- My Chaplain is secretly in love with the Widowed Passenger
- My Navigator is jealous of the Cabin Boy
Step 4 Create Your Character
You should consider not having players finalize their game stats until after they finish choosing roles and establishing relationships as they might want to choose slightly different skills and abilities to reflect their relationship to the party.